The Clash of Kingdoms

Chapter 1 Goodbyes are never easy.  He had been running in his Lycan form for two hours straight. He was now standing in the clearing, listening to the waterfall cascading down the river streams. His heart was in turmoil; he could not bear to hurt her. He was a doctor, not a murderer; he just couldn't do it, especially when it was her baby. They worked hard to hide the truth about the baby's true origin from King Darius. To say the king was angry when he discovered the truth about the baby would be an understatement. King Darius was livid; he swiftly ordered him to terminate "that thing." Adolphus couldn't believe that the king would call his grandbaby a "thing". Fighting a direct order from the king was not something any wolf could do. Adolphus's only choice was to run. Everything in him was burning, commanding him to do the king's will. He ran into the woods, enduring the pain, and he was now standing in the clearing. A gentle breeze softly whirled around him, calming him. He smiled a bit, knowing that the breeze was Pandora's power to send him messages whenever he was far from home. He thought he would hear Pandora's voice asking him to return to the Castle. However, a frown appeared on his beautiful face as Pandora's voice faded with the breeze; only one word echoed through the breeze, "rouges". His eyes snapped open. With a growl, he sprinted towards the castle. The closer he got to the castle, the stronger the foreign scent became. He shifted into his human form and wore shorts; he was filled with dread when he opened the castle gates. What he saw was something that can never be unseen. There was blood everywhere, there were bodies all over the yard, the servants' pups, wolves, and she-wolves were slaughtered, some were halfway into shifting, but were butchered before they could even shift into their full forms. He rushed into the castle; he pushed open the two large castle doors with a bang. The first thing he saw was the king's head that was severed from his body, and the queen's clothes, which were torn, exposing parts that weren't supposed to be seen by anyone but her king and mate. He didn't need anyone to narrate what had happened to the queen; the queen was violated beyond measure. He lowered his eyes, took a rug that was nearby, and walked backwards to avoid looking at the queen's body in its state. He covered the queen's body and bowed his head to show his last respect; even in death, she was still his queen. He had seen everybody who was in the castle that day, even though some bodies couldn't be recognized due to the severity of their injuries. He was sure that she wasn't among the dead bodies because she was heavily pregnant; he was hopeful that maybe she had survived and was hiding until someone came for her. He had a hunch as to where he might find her; he knew she would hide in her secret haven, and no one could find her when she was hiding except for himself and Aurora. That's how much Pandora trusted them. Using his Lycan speed, he was standing in front of a secret door in no time. As soon as he opened the door, her scent hit him in full force; she was lying on an operating table by herself. Her jet-black hair contrasted with her complexion and her rosy cheeks, which showed that there was still life left in her. He rushed to her side and held her hand, which was ice cold. As a royal doctor, he knew what was coming; his heart sank. Adolphus assessed her body and found it strange that she wasn't healing like a normal Lycan should, especially since she was of royal blood. The only wound she had was the one on her lower abdomen, which meant whoever was there took the baby with them, and whoever they were, they completely covered their scent. He began working, stitching and cleaning her up. It was a good thing that there was a medical kit down there for emergencies, which was also Pandora's idea. He was about to take out a band-aid from the kit when he felt a squeeze on his hand. "Hey, Pan, how are you feeling?" Pandora only squeezed his hand in response. "What happened here, Pandora?" his hope was that maybe she would be able to tell him what happened. However, Pandora was only able to utter three words that were going to be a mystery for a long time. "Rogues..." she whimpered in pain, "Vampires..." she paused, "Poison..." she finished with difficulty and took her last breath. Adolphus' world came crumbled down. He cried in anguish, he hugged her lifeless body in disbelief, weeping miserably. He was rocking back and forth, hugging her body for dear life, wishing so much that this was nothing but a bad dream. After a while, he laid her body on the operating table; he continued to wipe her body clean. Memories of them growing up together flooded his mind and played like a 3D movie in his mind. His hands were working, but his mind was occupied by Pandora from when he was just a 7-year-old boy who had lost his parents to a rogue attack. At that time, Pandora was just a four-year-old girl who held his hand and proclaimed that she had a brother. From that day on, they did everything together. He had pursued her for 2 years and finally agreed to give their relationship a real shot. He also promised to take full responsibility for her pregnancy, and their engagement was announced in all the kingdoms. Now she was gone before they could even begin to live their lives together. She looked so peaceful, it was like she was in a deep sleep; the only difference was that she would not be waking up this time. He kissed her forehead and flinched when there was no warmth coming from her. She was cold, reminding him of the harsh reality that she would never hear her voice call on him ever again in this life. "You are ready, baby girl, farewell Lycan Princess," he murmured as fresh tears burned his eyes. He carried her body in bridal style. He walked out of the secret chamber only to find the castle bustling with Lycans cleaning up and moving the bodies of those who were no longer alive. Everybody halted their tasks and stared at him. The werewolf omegas and some Lycans wailed loudly when they saw Pandora's limp body in his arms. Pandora was loved by many; the tears he was trying to hold back rolled down his face in waves. Elder Lucien came to him with red, swollen eyes, and one could tell that he had been crying for a while. He looked at him with pity, "I'm so sorry, my boy." Elder Lucien squeezed his shoulder in comfort. Adolphus laid Pandora's body next to her parents and bowed to the King and Queen; everyone else in the room followed suit, bowing to the fallen Lycan Royal family. Elder Marcus cleared his throat and stepped forward, "Adolphus, can you enlighten us as to what happened here?" Adolphus sniffed and explained everything, skipping the part where an argument occurred between the King and Princess Pandora. Marcus scrutinized him and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why were you in the woods in the first place, Adolphus?" he c****d his head to the side. "As I said, I needed to let my wolf out for a run, as a royal doctor, I barely go out, so today I got the chance, and I took it," he snapped at Marcus. "And you expect us to believe that it was a coincidence that the castle was attacked as soon as you left?"